By Jonathan Benjamin
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April 2, 2020
Uncertainty can be scary, especially as it pertains to your business's financial future. I know you don't want to hear the word "Corona Virus" EVER again - so here are a few things you can do for your business now, while simultaneously shifting your perspective and focus away from the negative and onto building and creating: 1. Think about ways you can help your customers. Maybe you aren't able to be open in the same way you were before - or at all. But that doesn't mean you still aren't amazing at the things you do. Try to think of ways to shift the business model and still deliver the value of what you do, but in a different way. An example would be restaurants switching to delivery and pick-up options instead of dine-in. They could even do a video conference or class that shows people how to cook a certain dish. There is most likely a way to create a video program or live class around any subject. Remember, even if you sold a physical product, there is still expertise involved on your end, about that product. Need help figuring it out or how to create and launch it? I can help you. See more here. 2. Learn - or continue to practice - a new skill. As entrepreneurs, we need to always be learning new skills and technology in this ever-changing world. I personally have 2 books and 3 video programs I purchased months ago, that I haven't even taken the first look at yet. I'll be getting to those ASAP. If you haven't already check out The Hero-Preneur Resource eBook. It is full of great resources that I've used to help build my businesses over the years. Another updated one is in the works..... 3. Connect with customers individually to check on them, say hi, or to thank them. This one seems so simple, but there was a dentist mentioned on a podcast recently who called all his customers and said basically, "Thanks for being a customer, thank you for your loyalty. I just want you to know if you need anything, we’re open to serve you." And his books were slammed the next day with people saying he was the only dentist open. You don't have to have a specific offer or reason to call. Just a "thank you" or a "how are you?" carries a lot of weight, especially these days. Have too many customers to call them all? I can help you accomplish this all at once with Ringless Voicemail Drops OR, as a Text Campaign directly to your customers. Click here to connect with me on this. 4. Offer something for free. Try to think of a way to deliver the same expertise and value in an email, blog post or video. Many companies are already offering free trainings on different subjects. How can you deliver a free portion of what you do that will be of benefit to someone else? 5. Keep up-to-date on what financial help you qualify for. Go online and check out which parts of the new Stimulus package you or your business qualify for. There are even business loans from the SBA that have portions that do not need to be repaid as long as you use the funds to pay employees and/or to keep your business afloat. Click here to check that out. Some of your vendors might even offer a skip payment or a pause on some of your monthly services. Get out a pen and paper and write down all of them and focus on the biggest ones that would be of the most benefit to pause for a month or two. Then ask them. It couldn't hurt. Many banks are giving two to three months of skip payments on auto loans, credit cards and mortgages with no penalties. Believe it or not, Bank of America has made this SUPER easy. Maybe they learned their lesson after all, back in 2009... 6. Use downtime wisely. Be as productive as possible. Business owners usually have a back-log of ideas and projects they just can't seem to find time to complete. I'm sure you are thinking of one or two of them right now. Use this time to work on product development, marketing ideas, or get your marketing and outgoing emails set up in advance. This is also a great time to work on your brand, refresh an outdated website or get super-clear on future goals. 6. Create another stream of income. As an entrepreneur you have already started at least one business - but if you are anything like me - you have more ideas floating around in that cranium of yours. Blueprint a few of them to see which ones are the most viable options to put energy towards. Here is one I have been working on, that I plan to wrap soon! 7. Breathe and stay calm. That means staying away from negativity, like the news! I'm not saying to be ignorant of what's going on, just don't be glued to it. Watching negative updates every five minutes won't put you in the right frame of mind to be creative. It has been proven that as a persons stress or “threat level” goes up, “creativity" goes down. We need our brains to be as creative as possible. It's what allows you to see opportunity, plan for the future and problem-solve at peak levels. If there is anything else at all I can help you with, use the form below to reach out - and please share.